Fugitives
by Blazer101
Summary: [AU] Shikamaru never asked to be a ninja. He never asked to be on Konoha's most wanted list. But now, during the Kage Wars, he's on the run. He just never expected others to come with him. [Shikamaru x Ino]
1. Ino

**_Fugitives_**

**_Chapter 1_**

_Ino_

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My name is Nara Shikamaru. Up until I was twelve, I lived a normal life with my father. However, just after I graduated ninja academy and became a genin, the Kage Wars broke out. It was between all five hidden villages, and Hokage-sama called on all of the jounins. My father was one of them.

It wasn't supposed to get out of hand, but by the time I was fourteen, it was a living nightmare. Dead bodies were all over the once busy streets. People barely come out of their houses. ANBU were on high alert, just in case of another surprise attack.

And so, at the age of fifteen, with no family anymore, I decided to set out. I'm only a genin, but with jounin fighting ability, and so the ANBU are after me, just because I happen to be near battle scenes. Deaths that could've been caused by any ninja are blamed on me. And there's no way in hell that I'm staying around to get killed.

**-----------------------------**

"Nara Shikamaru!"

A man stood tall, clearly an ANBU due to the mask. "Come out with your hands up!" He was standing in a fighting pose, clearly signifying that he was ready to fight if necessary. Around the man stood many other elite jounin, all facing a large tree and ready for battle. Some had kunai or shuriken ready in their hands, while others were ready to do hand seals.

There was a large storm that night. The rain beat down hard, causing the roads to slippery. Large bolts of lightning flashed through the sky which was always soon followed by a loud burst of thunder. It was enough to keep everyone inside; the only people out were the guards of the city.

Behind the large tree stood none other than the infamous ninja, Shikamaru. His back was against the trunk of the tree and he was panting heavily. His hair had long since fallen out of its pineapple state and was covering part of his face. The rain was slowly washing away the dried out blood located by the wounds on his body. He could feel the stinging sensation run through his body as the rain fell over his cuts. He closed his eyes for moment before opening them once more. Taking a deep breath, he connected all of his fingers, trying to think of a plan.

The leader was growing frustrated. It had been a long chase and they had finally gotten him tired down and hiding behind a tree. But he never knew what that guy could be planning, as they were also tired out from everything. If they attacked now, he could easily counterattack and everything would've gone to waste. But waiting around for him to do something was definitely worse. His fellow jounin looked towards him for signal, receiving a firm nod. They nodded as well as they prepared an attack. In a fury of kunai and hand seals, the attack on Shikamaru had started. A few shinobi had stayed in their spots with kunai and shuriken ready in their hands. Some created clones and went for a full frontal assault. There were a few others who used some type of jutsu to attack from far away, the ANBU captain being one of them.

The black haired ninja cursed softly as he quickly jumped out of the way in hopes to dodge the attacks. He managed to escape with only a few bruises and some kunai marks. He stood near the side of the tree, now in line of the kunai armed ninja. They threw their weapons just as he jumped, which caused a few to slash at his ankles. Pain consumed his body as he landed, but he ran forward regardless.

The jounin quickly turned around, watching him escape. "Quickly!" Pointing towards the runaway, he quickly advanced towards him, just as the others did.

Shikamaru didn't need to turn around to realize that they were coming after him. He did a few quick hand seals before ten clones of himself appeared around him. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" Half of them took out their own weapons and attacked as the other half fled in random directions, the actual following.

The ANBU stopped abruptly as he watched the clones before him. He cursed under his breathe as he got ready to fight. Now he knew what those other jounin meant by him being a genius.

**-----------------------------**

The runaway clones had disappeared a little while after Shikamaru summoned then. He figured that the majority of the jounin would stay to fight the clones, only a few following the runaways. Either way, they were off his back for now.

He paused for a moment, leaning against a thick tree trunk. Dropping down to the wet grass, he rolled up his pants, wincing at what he saw. Most of his lower leg was covering in blood, now dry, that was slowly being washed away. He could feel the pain of his cuts now. Taking a look at them, he noticed that they were pretty deep. He was no medic-nin, but he could tell that those cuts should be wrapped up, and quick.

"Shit!"

The wanted ninja's head snapped up, his body alert. The voice sounded like it was coming behind him. He was in no condition to run anymore, so he could only hope that it didn't come from any jounin. However, he wasn't about to take any chances.

Slowly, Shikamaru rose to his feet, trying to ignore the pain from his ankles. Using his stealth skills, he quietly went towards the figure, which he assumed was a girl from the voice. He arrived at another tree, seeing a girl near by. Keeping himself hidden and using the tree for support, he quietly watched her. Being the talented ninja he was, he wasn't too worried about hiding himself, since she didn't _look_ too strong. Either that or he was just too tired.

"Damn it,"

Now closer, he noticed she looked strangely familiar. The darkness of the night kept him from seeing too much detail, but he could make out her long, blonde hair and purple outfit. She seemed injured as well, wrapping an injury on her left arm. After a moment of watching her, her head shot up. Her sky blue eyes landed directly on him and his body immediately tensed. Quickly, she stood up and readied herself for a fight, the band aids on her arm forgotten.

"Who are you?" She demanded, her right hand inching towards her kunai pocket.

He silently cursed at being so careless and took a few steps back, not wanting to get involved in another fight. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you." He raised his tired hands in the air, still on high alert just in case she attacked him. Man, running away was so troublesome.

"And why should I believe you?!" She spat, her hand already in the kunai pouch.

Shikamaru growled silently, wishing he had just not watched her in the first place. He was in no condition to run; his legs were extremely worn out. Fighting wouldn't be any better though. After racking his mind for a proper answer, he opened his mouth, only to closer it again.

"There's Nara!" The two ninja swiftly turned their heads towards the source of the voice, only to see an ANBU, readily armed. Behind him, a small squad of other jounin were following.

"What the? Nara?" The kunoichi turned towards the jounin, then back at him. "Do you mean—?" Before she could finish her question, she felt him grab her arm and began to run off. The two began to weave between the trees in the forest, trying to avoid the jounin chasing them.

"Hurry up! He's getting away!"

**-----------------------------**

The blonde ninja quickly pulled her arm away once he began to slow down.

"What the hell do you think you're _doing_?" She asked, still panting, as he took the time to catch his breath. The two were only a few steps ahead of the jounin who had kept hot on their trail for the past half an hour. However, she never received an answer, for the jounin had caught up.

"Nara!" The ANBU was standing in the front with four jounin aligned behind him. "Hands up, and we won't have to fight!"

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered softly before turning to face the jounin. After making a few hand seals, shadow began to change shape, becoming longer and thinner. "**Kagemane no Jutsu**!" The moonlight washed over them, casting shadows on the ground. Soon, his shadow blended in with the ones from the trees and within seconds was connected with the shadows of the five jounin.

The ANBU cursed as he felt his hands move up to touch his head against his will, just as his fellow jounin. Soon, they would be beaten and he would've gotten away again. Their only hope was that he would soon run out of chakra. From what he heard, this jutsu ran in the bloodline of the Nara clan, but took up a lot of chakra when used for a long time.

She just stared in awe, watching as all six of them moved in unison. She had only heard of the jutsu used by the infamous Nara Shikamaru, but she had never seen it first hand. After a moment, it clicked in her mind. _That_ was Nara Shikamaru. _That_ was the infamous ninja. _That _was one of the most wanted shinobi in Konoha. And _he_ had just saved her from ANBU.

Shikamaru gave a smug smirk, happy that he seemed to have the upper hand. All he had to do was subdue them for a while. After a moment of remaining in his hands on his head pose, he put his hands down, turned towards the side and began running full speed, all of the jounin doing the same. He kept running down the road, getting faster and faster. As for the other jounin, they were running into the large cluster of trees right next to the road, only to be knocked unconscious from the force. After the last of the jounin had been knocked out, his shadow returned to a normal shape and he stopped running. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he turned towards her.

"Let's go."

**-----------------------------**

Once they were sure they lost any other possible followers, the two stopped. They had found an old, run down storage house, clearly abandoned for some years. Plus, it was hidden amongst destroyed buildings and trees, a good way to keep it hidden for the night.

"This'll be perfect for the night." Shikamaru stated as he walked into the dark building. The only source of light was the moonlight coming in from outside. Looking around, the ninja sat himself in a corner, exhausted and ready to sleep. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to collect his thoughts.

The kunoichi sat down as well, also tired from the running. She made sure to keep a good distance away from him. Now that she new exactly _who_ he was, there was no way she was going near him. "What do you mean 'perfect for the night'? _I'm_ not staying here, alone, with you!"

Opening his eyes, he looked at her. "What are your other options? If you're out there, not only will you freeze, but the jounin will be more likely to find you."

"And why should that concern me?"

"Well, from what I can tell, they probably think you're part of my group. And if you're with me, then you're an enemy to them. So you can either go back on your own, where they'll probably find you and kill you, or," he paused as realization finally hit him, "you can stay with me and we can get out of here."

"What?" A surprised look crossed her features. She was certainly not expecting that response out of him. But he did have a point, the jounin now-a-days didn't take chances with anything.

He again closed his eyes, in hopes to get some rest before they set out the next morning. It was already late at night, maybe even early in the morning. He had no idea. All he knew is that he wanted to sleep some.

As the blonde ninja thought over her situation, she looked over his way. From the looks of it, he was ready to sleep. He just seemed so vulnerable like that, eyes closed and worn out from the day. He looked so innocent, not at all like an elite ninja that could wipe out fifteen jounin in one, slick move. If she really felt like it, she could just go and turn him in to the Hokage. But if what he said was right, someone would've found her and killed her first, or at least take her away. And there was something else about him that told her just not to do it. He didn't look all that bad.

"Hey." She watched him for a reaction, hoping to at least get a formal introduction. "Hey, don't you just fall asleep!" She said again, this time more annoyed.

Grumbling, he opened his eyes to look at her. "What do you want?" He stared at her with that same bored expression that had settled on his face since their encounter with the jounin.

Slightly annoyed by his rude behavior, she crossed her arms in a huff. "I was hoping for a proper introduction or at least _something_ like that."

"You already know my name."

"Yeah, but you don't know mine, do you?"

He looked at her with a rather uncaring face. Clearly, he didn't find her name all too important. Or at least right now, when he could've been sleeping. But he knew the common courtesy of giving your name first before asking someone else's, even though she already knew his. "Nara Shikamaru."

She couldn't help but grin that she got a response out of him. And a polite one at that. She let herself relax a tad bit more, ready to go to sleep. There was no way, genius or not, that he would try something at night when he was exhausted.

"My name's Yamanaka Ino."

**------------------------------**


	2. Run Away

Hey all! First off, thanks to all who reviewed last chapter. I know that these two chapters aren't so different then the old ones, but I just wanted to change them a bit to make them more in character and everything. Hope it worked! Anyway, sorry it took so long to update. Chapter 3 should come sooner! Until then, enjoy!

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_**Chapter 2**_

_Run Away_

**--------------**

Shikamaru couldn't sleep.

Up until about an hour ago, he was fast asleep. However, after he had woken up due to some sounds outside, he couldn't bring himself to go back into a peaceful slumber. He told himself it was because he wanted to stay alert, but he knew why he was up. It was because of the damned situation he was in.

Three days ago, when he was back at home, the plan seemed easy. Get past all of the jounin, get out of Konoha and get to some other village to stay hidden for a while. That way he wouldn't be so sought after. He doubted that Suna would know about the infamous Nara Shikamaru. Perhaps they had heard some tales, but nothing like Konoha.

But now, the plan didn't seem that easy. It had only been three days and already he was tired and injured. His arms had many cuts around them, a few already turning into scars. They were mostly from falling to the ground or a few encounters with some jounins. His legs were tired from the running and had a few bruises around them. With little food and water, his stomach felt extremely empty. Like the old saying went, _easier said than done._

The ninja let out a sigh. Currently, he was lying on his back with his hands behind his head. He had taken off his jacket and tossed it aside before he fell asleep. His hair was still down, but as soon as they set out again, he was prepared to put it up again.

He blinked his eyes as he continued to stare at the ceiling. If the ceiling wasn't there, then there would surely be a few clouds, though probably not many due to the storm from last night. Ever since he was a child back at the academy, he had a habit of watching the clouds. It was one of his favorite hobbies. Whenever school let out and it was a nice day, he would pick a spot near a shady tree to watch the clouds. He always thought of how nice it would be if he were a cloud. No troublesome tests, no troublesome teachers, and no troublesome students. Well, most of the students anyway.

There were a selectable few from the academy that Shikamaru considered 'friends'. Akimichi Chouji was definitely one of them. His best friend by far. Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba weren't that bad. Sure, they were loud mouths who usually awoke him during his slumber, but they were still good kids. And when they weren't shouting their asses off or messing up on some test, they were sleeping too. They had that in common. He even remembered a few times when Naruto had escaped from class. Chouji, Kiba and he followed suit. Of course, the next day was a lecture from their sensei.

There was one student, however, that he never liked. Uchiha Sasuke. The quiet, talented, heartthrob of the class. Just about all of the girls, except for maybe one or two, had a crush on him. They always complimented him at school. They always gave him presents on his birthday. They always gave him chocolates on Valentines Day. They always asked him out for some ramen at Ichiraku or to walk home with him. But every single time, no matter what it was, he turned them down. Maybe it was that quality that made the Nara bear such a disliking towards him. Or maybe it was how he acted. He was always so calm and full of himself. Talent wise, he was probably the best of the class. However, Shikamaru could tell he didn't practice hard each and everyday to obtain that skill. He probably was just born with it. After all, the Uchiha clan was supposed to be an amazingly strong clan. However, most were wiped out by the massacre. To his knowledge, Sasuke might be the only survivor.

Shikamaru's thoughts were cut short when he heard a noise come from the other side of the small apartment. His eyes landed upon Ino, who was still sound asleep. Since she was asleep, he took the time to look her over. Last night, it had been dark and he was tired. Her white blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but a lone strand was hanging in front of her face. Her outfit was purely purple. A small shirt with three small silver hoop rings attached to a loose piece of cloth. Below that was skirt cut at the sides that went up to about her knees. On her waist were bandages wrapped around, along with her thighs. He also noticed her white arm warmers and her hitai-ati around her waist.

While he was looking at her, he noticed that she looked very familiar. Though he never asked her what her age was, he assumed she was around his age. That meant that she was probably in his academy class. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them once again. Yes, she was on his class. If he remembered correctly, she was one of the loudest girls who chased after Uchiha. The other one who rivaled her loudness was a pink haired girl. He couldn't place his finger on the name.

"Uh…" A light groan came form the other side of the room.

The ninja again turned his attention to the kunoichi. It seemed like she was waking up. Grabbing his hair from his left wrist, he quickly put his hair up in a ponytail. He reached for his jacket, which was still sitting near the corner of the apartment, and slipped it on.

"Shikamaru?"

At the sound of his name, he turned his gaze back towards her. She had just woken up. Her arms were high above her head as she let out a yawn. As she sat up straight, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Morning." Finding her stretching routine boring, he looked back up at the ceiling. Now that she was up, they could finally leave Konoha. After all, the earlier the better.

"Good morning." Once she was done stretching and on her feet, she took a moment to look around. After a minute, she seemed to finally remember where she was.

"Ready to go?" Shikamaru also stood up.

"Already? What about breakfast?" Her stomach growled right on cue.

He let out a sigh as he walked towards the door. It was nearly five a.m. from what he could tell; too early for the villagers to be up. If they kept hidden and away from ANBU sight, it would be easy.

"We'll get food on the way. It's best if we leave early. The desert won't be as hot that way."

"_Desert?!_"

He winced at her sudden scream. Quickly, he turned towards her and brought his finger to his mouth. "Shh! You don't want them to hear us, do you?"

She didn't pay much attention to his warning. "There is absolutely _no_ way I'm going to the desert all alone with _you_. I don't care if you saved me or not!" Crossing her arms, she stared back at him.

Giving a sigh, Shikamaru rubbed his temple. It seemed to him that he couldn't have gotten any worse luck when it came to travel partner. Hell, even a turtle would provide better company then her. At least the turtle wouldn't be able to complain about every little thing. Looking back outside, he made sure no heard her and turned back towards the kunoichi. "How else do you propose we get to Suna?"

"Suna? No way, I'm staying in Konoha. You know what? I should just leave right now! There's nothing keeping me here and leaving would be my safest bet." Without waiting for an answer, she headed towards the door, pushing past him to get out. When she walked out, she was met with a rush of cool air blowing back her hair. Quickly, she brought up her arms in hopes to keep her warm as she continued to walk farther away from the wanted shinobi. However, she didn't get that far, for she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her back.

"Are you crazy?" Pulling her back into the small storage closet, he pinned her against the wall, his face dangerously close to hers. He made sure not to use too much force in holding her down; he didn't want to hurt her and cause even more trouble. "Look, I spent nearly two years running away and hiding from all the ANBU around here, and it hasn't been easy. I sometimes had to go without food and water for a few days, but I managed to stay hidden, and that's the only reason I'm alive right now. If you just walked out of here with them knowing you know where I am, they could easily track me down, and I'm in no mood to run." His eyes were narrowed and he could feel sweat dripping down the back of his neck. It wasn't like him to be this forceful on anyone, but he did not want to get caught, especially when he was so close to getting out of here for good.

Ino could feel heat rise to her face when he suddenly was so close to her. Her body was tense with his hands now on her shoulders. Staring into her eyes, she couldn't help but feel a little scared. He hadn't acted close to like this since they met last night. As he stepped back, she let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

Taking a few steps back, he took in a few calming breathes. He shook his head, silently wondering what made him lose control like that. Turning back to her, he noticed that she didn't seem too frightened of him. Or she at least didn't show it. "So are you ready to go?"

She opened her mouth to argue about going, but quickly closed it. If she tried to leave like she just did, there was no telling what he would do. For now, her safest bet was to stay with him. Keeping a strong face on, she nodded. "Yes."

-----------------------------

It was no surprise to Ino that Shikamaru was a genius. She had heard of all the tales of his brilliant ideas and strategies. That was half of the reason as to why he wasn't captured yet. Many ninja, one after another, were outwitted by his tactics. Now, she could see why.

The two were currently sitting atop of a tree, using the few leaves left on the tree as a cover. They had left the apartment almost an hour ago, making painfully slow progress. They had reached about a mile away before a few jounins caught sight of them. Because it was still dark and they hadn't seen their full bodies before they disappeared into the shadows of the trees, Shikamaru suspected they weren't completely sure. So, he told her to make a clone of herself, just like he had done. They sent their clones off in the opposite directions, making sure they tried to stay hidden. The plan had been a success, since the jounins followed the clones without a clue.

After surveying the area once more, he decided it was safe to come down. He thought it would be safe to stay up in the trees a bit more, just in case they had backup. They had managed to jump through a few trees, but nothing much. Glancing in her direction, he signaled that she follow his lead. Carefully and silently, he jumped to the ground, back against the trunk of the tree. She did the same, staying next to him to await further directions.

There was a sound coming from a few feet behind them. Shikamaru cursed softly and turned around. He didn't see anyone, but he wasn't about to take any chances. Traveling with someone else was certainly troublesome. It left him with double the change of getting caught and the two couldn't split up.

"Let's go." His voice was low, barely a whisper. He turned back around and began to walk again. Ino followed close behind, wondering how long their clones would last. They had put enough charka in for about an hour. Even if the ANBU hadn't realized their cover, their time would soon be up, and they would continue searching for them once more.

"This way!" He had jumped onto a tree, waiting for her to follow. Once she was up with him, they took off again, jumping from branch to branch.

The only sound audible as they jumped were the chirps of a few lonesome birds and the sound of the branches moving under their weight. The day was dark and dreary with no sign of sunlight, even though it was nearing six in the morning. The wisps of cold wind blew through the trees, causing a few red and orange leaves to fly by.

Ino idly wondered if life would always be like this. She brought up her hands to rub her cold arms. Would the villages always be fighting? Would they always keep running away? Would it ever come to an end? What if it didn't? She gulped at that thought. Back at the academy, she always dreamed of her future. She would graduate the academy and become an excellent kunoichi. Eventually, she would make Sasuke-kun be hers and marry him, maybe raise a few children. However, her future plans never included a war.

She quickly stopped in her tracks as she came in contact with Shikamaru's outstretched arm. He was standing on the same branch as her, crouched down and listening intently. Once she stopped, he lowered his arm but did not say anything. After a moment passed, he stood up again and jumped to the ground once more. She followed.

"We've lost them." He said as he leaned against a tree and began to catch his breath. "But not for long," he continued, "so we should head out once we're ready."

She nodded as she too caught her breath. She slowly sat down on the moist grass, not really caring that her purple skirt was becoming wet. She took this moment to look around, trying to figure out where they were. Considering that she didn't know the outskirts of Konoha that much, it was all new to her. After all, her house and store were both located in the center of the town. While she was in the academy, her mother didn't let her to go out this far. "Hey," she turned to look at him, "do you want to answer something for me?"

He raised his head to look at her instead of the ground. "Depends. What?"

Shifting uncomfortably in her sit, she looked down at the dirt. Even though she wasn't sure how to ask it, she knew she had to. After all, if she was traveling with him, she deserved some answers, right? She lifted her graze back to him and locked her eyes with his. "How did you…" she trailed off, still not sure how to phrase the question. "What did you do to become…a fugitive?"

Hair caught up in his throat as he processed her question. It had been almost two years since it happened. Closing his eyes, everything seemed to rush back to him. The screams, the bloodshed, the deaths. Suddenly the whole day felt like yesterday. He opened his eyes in hopes to make the memories to leave, at least for now. Looking at her, he noted that she was expecting some kind of answer.

"Do you really want to know?" His eyes were still on her, his mind wondering if he should tell or not.

She didn't answer right away, instead taking a moment to reconsider. When first asking him, she didn't mean to stumble onto a traumatic situation or any of that sort. All she wanted were some answers. But judging from his hesitance to sharing, it didn't seem like he was eager to tell her. But still, curiosity got the better of her. "Yeah."

Taking in a breath, he looked away from her. Slowly, he began forming words in his head, selecting them carefully. However, he was interrupted by the sound of leaves cracking not too far away. Swiftly, he rose from his seat, wiping dirt off of his pants. Silently thankful for the interruption, he once again turned towards here. "There's no time to talk. We have to go."

She reluctantly nodded before she too got up. It looked like her question would just have to wait. After both of them looked around and made sure the coast was clear, they began to head off, both having their journey in mind.


	3. Last Visits

_**Chapter 3**_

_Last Visits_

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Ino rubbed her arms, shivering slightly as she did so.

"Man, it's cold." She shifted her weight on the branch she was currently sitting on. The cold wind blew through her hair, making her bang cover her eyes. She carefully straightened it out and put it behind her ear as she continued to watch below her. It was nearly two in the afternoon and they had reached the outskirts of Konoha. Due to their slow progress, they both decided it would be best to only go halfway towards Suna, since it would be better to enter the village during the day. They would set up some sort of camp in the area between the two villages where they would surely be hidden amongst all of the leaves. However, before that, Shikamaru said he needed to stop somewhere.

Dropping her gaze to the ground, she spotted said ninja. He had just exited an apartment complex, a sleeping and pillow in one hand and a pack in the other. As they were coming here, she asked if it was his apartment, but he never answered her question.

His back against the wall, the black-haired shinobi looked around him. Seeing no one, he quickly jumped towards the trees where his companion was and handed her the pillow to hold.

"Here, we have that for tonight." As he spoke, he also pulled out a folded up tent to show her from the small bag. "We've also got this, some water and a bit of food." Once he was done, he replaced the tent back into the bag.

While he talked, the kunoichi stared at the lone sleeping bag in his arm. "You only brought _one_?!" She had learned from the last time to keep her voice down, but the volume still made him wince a bit.

"It was the only one." He stated.

"It's obviously too small for the both of us, so one of us will just have to sleep outside the sleeping bag, and it _won't_ be me."

Shikamaru frowned. She did have a point; it was small. But that didn't mean that he had to freeze his ass off in the middle of the night while she got the cozy sleeping bag. He leaned against the trunk of the tree and put his hands together so only the fingers were touching. Closing his eyes, he began to think, remaining in his ever so famous thinking pose. After a moment or two, he came up with two ideas, both of which he didn't look forward to. Putting down his hands, he looked at her, hoping she would treat this matter as an adult. "Well, there's the option of us two sleeping together if-"

"_What?_"

Ino could feel her face becoming red, which she tried to hide by turning around from him, even though he saw it anyway. "What kind of an idea is _that_? I thought you were supposed to be a genius!" Taking deep breaths, she tried to calm herself down. She didn't want any jounin to know where they were.

Shikamaru grumbled the word troublesome before letting out an annoyed sigh. It seemed like every little thing peeved her. Rubbing off the genius comment, he continued on with the other option. "Like I was saying before you interrupted me… we could do that, or unzip the side of the sleeping bag and use it as a blanket. It won't be as warm but at least we'll be able to sleep more comfortably."

She turned around to look at him, as if he had done something horribly wrong. "Those are your two brilliant plans?"

"It's not easy…" he grumbled, looking annoyed.

Giving a sigh she crossed her arms. "Well, if that's the only thing that the genius Nara can do-"

"You didn't even come up with anything!"

"That's because _I'm_ not that genius."

"It doesn't take a genius to think up an idea."

"Well, my ideas would obviously not compare to your brilliant ones, so why should I even bother?"

"Troublesome woman…" Shikamaru let out a small sigh, deciding it would be best to change the subject. Glancing at the sky, he noticed that they should get moving. He looked back towards her; a serious expression again settled on is face.

"Let's go. There's one more place we need to go to before we set up camp." A deep frown formed on his face as he spoke. It looked so unnatural on him. Even though she had yet to see him smile, he never really frowned. He just had a kind of dulled or bored expression all the same. Neither happy nor sad.

As she looked at him, she felt her throat become dry. Even though he provided no detail for her, she suddenly felt nervous and had a bad feeling of where they were heading. If the thought of it could make a wanted criminal frown, she really didn't want to go there. But she was in no position to complain. Tentatively, she asked, "Where are we going?"

Almost as if he didn't hear her, he jumped down from the tree and landed with a thud. He waited until he heard her land behind her that he began walking through the think cluster of trees, remaining quiet. Silence flowed between them and she didn't think asking again would be such a good idea. After a good few minutes of walking, he finally answered.

"The graveyard."

_-----------------------------_

By the time they had reached the graveyard, it had begun to rain. It wasn't as hard as last night, more like a drizzle. The small rain drops were cascading down the many gray rocks, all different shades, which were aligned along the long field. Many were lined up in a neat order, like all graveyards should, but around those were many other rocks, uneven and scattered around. Ever since war broke out, it became impossibly to bury every single ninja. Instead, people just came to pay their own respects by putting in lone rocks in their name.

Ino brought her thin jacket tighter around her body. She silently cursed at herself for not bringing anything warmer when she left. Drops of rain landed on her hair, which was matted down from the down pour. Quickly, she flicked her hood on and began walking faster, only a few steps behind Shikamaru. Why did they have to go to the graveyard? She had only gone twice in her life; once when he grandmother died and a second time when the Sandaime died in battle. Those were the only two times she went, and she wasn't planning to go again any time soon. The two began walking on a small dirt path, now muddy from the rain, between the stones. As she walked, the kunoichi looked to her side, silently reading the names written on the gravestones.

_Inuzuka Tsume_

_Mokushi Sendo_

_Umino Iruka_

Shivering, she turned away, her mind concentrating on the last name. Tears threatened to drop from her beautiful sky blue eyes. _Iruka-sensei…_ The name was embedded into her mind, her academy teacher. Unlike the older ninja, her academy teacher was the only teacher she ever learned under. Classes at the academy were officially canceled only a mere few days after their graduation. Swallowing, she fought back the tears and continued on.

Shikamaru took an abrupt turn to a row of uneven stones. Turning his beady eyes towards the stones, he began to skim the names; looking for the one he was here to pay respects to. Once his eyes landed upon the name, he stopped. He felt Ino walk into him, probably not noticing that he stopped. "Why did we…?" Her voice stopped abruptly when she turned towards the gravestone, slowly reading the text carved into it.

_R.I.P_

_Akimichi Chouji_

_May 1 September 22_

_Great ninja, Loyal friend_

The words were messy and off center. She guessed that someone must've carved the words into a stone with a kunai or shuriken. Tears began to burn her eyes once again. She tried to look away, but her gaze was fixed on the stone. She read it again, as if to see if it was real or not. Maybe it was just a dream, a horrible nightmare. Someone would just come and pinch her and she'd wake up. But no one ever did.

"When did…" She stopped half way through her question. Tears were beginning to drop now, slowly blending in with the falling rain.

"About two years ago," His voice was firm, not showing any signs of sadness, or any other emotions for that matter.

At first, she didn't respond. She reread the stone again, her eyes skimming the messily written words. It took a moment for her to remember her former class mate, but it soon all came back. Slowly, she ripped her gaze from the stone and turned towards the grass right by it. Her legs gave out and she collapsed in front of the stone, kneeling on her knees. The tears fell freely now, hitting the ground just as hard as the rain. She was shaking now, and not just because of the cold. Wrapping her arms around herself, she continued to cry, not really caring that her jacket was soaking and she was getting even wetter.

Shikamaru shifted his beady gaze towards her crying form, then back up at the stone. He didn't feel the urge to cry; all his tears left him when it first happened. Taking in a breath, he watched as the rain rolled down her now pale skin, falling on the grass next to her. If they stayed out in the rain any longer, than one of them would certainly catch a cold. He sighed, not knowing what to do. Silently, he closed his eyes and began to mutter a few words. He bowed his head slightly, opening his eyes to look at the stone once more. _It's been nearly a year and a half…_ He narrowed his eyes. Muttering a few last prayers for his deceased friend, he looked towards the blonde kunoichi, wondering if she'd be done soon.

"Ino." She looked up at the sound of her name, her eyes red and puffy. Getting up slowly, she looked over at him, slightly embarrassed at how she must've looked. A small frown formed on his lips. He wasn't surprised that she didn't know about this before. Most of the genin lost touch after the academy ended, and deaths weren't always spread around quickly. Sighing, he turned back towards the gravestone to pay his last respects to his dear friend. Skimming over the messily written words, he could remember the day he made the gravestone like it was yesterday.

_**Flashback**_

_The young Shikamaru ran as fast as he could through the trees. His body was covered in a mix of blood and rain, and he was shaking terribly. His eyes were tightly shut, which caused him to crash headfirst into a large tree trunk. Falling backwards on the mud, he didn't move for a moment. His back was resting on the ground, eyes still closed. He let the rain slowly caress his face, the thunder echoing in his ears._

_This wasn't happening. No, not to him. There was no way it could've happened. The scene was still replaying in his head, as if he was trying to believe it was just a dream. Maybe it was just a horrible nightmare and he would wake up soon. But no, as much as he tried to deny it, he knew it really happen. Bring his injured hands to his face; the young boy quickly rubbed the tears that were forming in his eyes away. Crying wouldn't help; it would only make it worse. He had to be strong like a true ninja would be._

_Slowly, the boy rose to his feet; eyes now open. He could feel the adrenalin still pumping in his body. As he regained his balance, he could feel warm liquid slowly dripping down his arm. Bringing up his left arm, he saw a long line of blood making a growing puddle below him. On his shoulder was a large gash, reopened from the fall. He placed his right hand over it in hopes to subdue the pain and stop the bleeding. Ignoring the constant pain shooting through his body, he continued on._

_Soon, his destination came into view. The gates, as usual, were closed. The only time they opened where during ceremonies or if someone paid the grave keeper. However, he, being a kid, knew a different way to get in. After taking a moment to catch his breath, the young shinobi grabbed onto the rock walls keeping him from the graveyard. Using all the force he had left, he pulled himself up along the rough wall. The rain dripping down made everything more slippery, but he didn't care. Hands gripping the top of the wall tightly, he pulled himself over with the little strength he had left. Luckily, the wall wasn't too tall, so it didn't take long for him to climb all the way up. Once he was on top of the wall, he carefully yet quickly jumped down into the graveyard._

_Area was bleak and quiet; there wasn't anybody in sight. Gulping, he continued anyway. He always hated graveyards. They always gave off a haunting feeling and they always looked so depressing. And the harsh rain falling form the sky certainly didn't help. Ever since the war started, bodies have been coming into the graveyard like crazy. So many that the grave keeper couldn't keep track of them. He just allowed people to come in for a fee._

_It didn't take long for him to find a suitable rock for a gravestone. Maybe it would've been smarter to come back later and wait until his wounds heal. Or at least until they stopped bleeding. But he didn't care. No, he needed to do it that day. The day it happened. Putting his bloody hands on the moist rock, he pulled on it until it was near the other already marked stones. It didn't take long for him to stick the large rock into the ground._

_His shaking hands dug into his kunai pocket, quickly pulling out on of the small blades. He rested the point of it on the rock and pushed down hard, beginning to carve the name in a messy handwriting. After he finished writing up the name and date, he stared at the rock for a moment. A mix of tears, blood and rain were causing the dirt below him to be muddy, but he didn't care. Finally, he wrote the last four words on the gravestone, the only ones he could think at the time. Because it was true._

_Chouji was a great ninja and probably Shikamaru's most loyal friend he would ever have._

-----------------------------

The two hadn't said anything to each other since they left the graveyard. They had managed to go more than halfway towards Suna before that decided to call it a night. Traveling when it was light out seemed like a smarter plan than during the dark. They set up their tent and sleeping bag under a few trees that were scarcely scattered around the area.

"Don't go to sleep yet."

Shikamaru was slightly startled by her words. Turning his head, he noticed she hadn't entered the sleeping bag yet. By the look on her face, she wouldn't let him go to sleep until she said what she had to say. Pulling himself out of the sleeping bag, he sat across form her, hoping he would be able to get some sleep soon. A moment of silence passed between the two before she spoke again.

"What's your favorite color?"

He was caught off guard by that question, and rather annoyed that she kept him awake for something like that. "What?"

"Your favorite color." Ino stated again, as if it was a completely normal question to ask.

"Why would you want to know that?"

"Well, if we're going to travel with each other, we should get to know each other a bit."

Grumbling, he considered just going to sleep, but she would one way or the other keep him up. So, he figured, the sooner he answered her questions the better. "Light blue."

"Mine's purple," she replied, glad that she got an answer out of him. There was another uncomfortable silence before she asked another question.

"What do you like to do during your free time?"

"Watch clouds," he answered almost without thinking. "What about you?"

This time she smiled since he seemed rather interested now. "Lots of things. Picking flowers, going shopping, hanging out with friends…" she trailed off, trying to think of her other hobbies. "Oh! And I can't forget hanging out with Sasuke-kun!" At the sound of his name, he couldn't help but twitch with annoyance.

"How could I forget." He muttered under his breath, but she seemed to hear him anyway.

"What do you mean?" Now that she was thinking about her academy days, she couldn't help but feel she knew him from somewhere. He seemed very familiar.

"You never stopped obsessing about him in class."

"You mean you were in my class?" She sounded rather surprised, and she was. Ino wasn't the type of girl who remembered everyone in her class for three years. Only the important people like Sasuke. And she couldn't forget Naruto, the loudest loudmouth in her class.

He looked rather surprised at she didn't recognize him, and maybe the slightest bit offended too. But it didn't bother him much. He nodded at her question and watched her try to remember him, which apparently didn't take long.

"Yeah, now I remember you!" She couldn't help but give a nervous chuckle. How could she forget one of her classmates? Then again, he barely said anything during class and she was never good with memorizing things. "Nara… yeah, you were the really smart kid."

Sighing a bit, he gave a small nod. "I guess you could say that."

"Why didn't you bring it up before? I mean, you knew me, right?"

"I dunno…" he gave it a moments thought before answering. "I guess remembering me would lead to remember _other_ people…"

"The only other person worth remembering is Sasuke-kun." He couldn't help but sigh at the sound of his name. After all these years and she was _still_ after him?

"Yes, him."

A long, awkward silence ensued as the two continued to sit in the tent. Shikamaru, starting to get tired, begin to crawl in the sleeping bag once again. Just when she was getting uncomfortable with the silence, Ino was reminded of their uncomfortable sleeping situation, which only made her more uncomfortable. Once he was ready to fall asleep, he turned towards her, wondering if she was getting in.

"You going to bed?"

It took her a moment to get out of her thought and back to the real world, where she nodded and began to get into the sleeping bag as well. With both of them in there, it was pretty cramp, but that was to be expected. With her back towards his back, she laid her head the pillow and stared at the tent wall.

"Shikamaru?"

"Yeah?"

"Where do you think Sasuke-kun is?"

He was silent at first, trying to think of an answer. What would he know about the Uchiha? "I don't think we have to worry about that now, Ino."

She gave a silent nod before closing her eyes. There was an uneasy feeling in her stomach, like it was trying to warn her about something. But maybe he was right and they didn't have to worry about Sasuke. Maybe they didn't have to worry about anything right now.

Or at least, she hoped.


	4. Kiba

--------------

_**Chapter 4**_

_Kiba_

--------------

_Bark!_

Ino grumpily rolled over in the small sleeping bag. Reluctantly, she pulled her arm in front of her face, in hopes of more sleep. However, the annoying noise coming from outside didn't seem to want to let her do that. Opening her tired eyes slowly, she came in contact with bare flesh. She knew it wasn't hers, it was rougher. It took her a moment to realize what it was; the bare chest belonging to her traveling partner. If she had been fully awake, or at least more aware of what she was doing, she would've jumped back and shout at him and blame it all on him. But, being extremely tired, she instead snuggled up against his lean chest, her forehead touching his warm skin.

_Bark, bark!_

Maybe it was the continuous barking, or maybe it was how close he was to her, but he slowly opened his eyes. He must've turned around in his sleep because he did not remember facing her before he went to sleep last night, and he _certainly_ did not remember being this _close_ to her. His eyes were wide open and he could feel blood rushing to his face. If she was still asleep, or at least not fully awake, he did not want to risk her waking up to them in such an awkward position. There's was no telling _what_ she would do, so he decided it would smart to separate themselves before she woke up.

_Baaaark…_

His eye twitched, now annoyed by the constant barking. Slowly, he lifted his arm that was carelessly draped over her. As he pulled it out of the sleeping bag, he couldn't help but miss the soft feeling of her skin against his. He clearly shook that thought out of hi head, now more than halfway out of the bag. He stopped suddenly when he saw a small movement in her still sleeping body. Staying still for another moment, he made sure she was still asleep before removing himself fully from the bag.

Standing up, he gave a quiet sigh of relief. He knew that sleeping together would cause trouble, but as long as she didn't find out, it would be okay. But that wasn't important now. He first had to deal with the annoying barking coming from outside.

Turning around one last time to make sure she was still asleep, he slowly went outside the tent. He was greeted by a rush of cold morning wind causing him to bring his arms up in hopes to keep him warm. After getting used to the temperature change, he looked around for the source of the noise. It didn't take him long to find what it was, and as he guessed it, it was a dog. A pretty small one at that. As he neared it, he noticed it was a white dog, but it was so covered in dried blood that he couldn't be certain. From what he could tell, that dog had been in a pretty bad beating just recently.

The ninja kneeled in front of the dog, wondering how he should take care of it. There was no way he would just leave a poor little dog out in the cold, but it would've helped if he knew some kind of medical jutsu. If only he had paid a bit more attention in class. Either way, he would have to improvise. The dog gave a small groan of pain as he carefully moved him onto his side. The wound near the dog's belly looked pretty deep. He would need some water and bandages to clean him up.

Rising to his feet, he went back into the tent to get a few medical supplies. Again kneeling down, he pulled out a bottle of water. Slowly, he let it drip down onto the matted down fur and began to carefully clean it a bit. Another groan came from the dog, but he was managed. The wound was more visible once some of the dry blood was washed off, which made it easier for the Konoha-nin. Grabbing a small bottle of disinfectant, he grabbed a small towel and dabbed it with some of it. Slowly, he went over the wound to get rid of any infections. This time, the small white animal gave a loader groan, similar to a bark, trying to endure the pain. Shikamaru couldn't blame him; the wound was deep.

Once that was done, he set aside the towel and reached for the bandages. Until they reached Suna, this would have to do. He began wrapping the white material around the dog's small body, making sure to seal up the wound. He managed to finish the wrapping rather quickly as he tied a secure knot at the end. Putting all of the medical supplies in one arm and the dog in another, he again reentered the tent.

Ino was, luckily, still asleep, but he knew they would have to leave soon. He put away the medical supplies in the bag once again before setting the dog down on his half of the sleeping bag. Rummaging in the bag, he pulled out another, clean towel and draped it over the animal, in hopes to keep him warm. Once that was done, he continued his search in the bag, pulling out two bananas and a small bag of cereal. That would probably last them until they got to Suna.

The kunoichi stirred once again in sleep, her back still facing away from him. Sighing, the shinobi crawled over towards her back, deciding now would be a good time as any to wake her up. The earlier the better, right? He lightly placed his hand on her shoulder, shaking it a bit. Seeing no reaction, he shook a little harder. After a moment, she turned around, her face only inches away. Slowly, her eyes opened, staring directly at his. At first, neither of them reacted. Dull black eyes stared into vibrant sky blue ones, lost for a moment before Shikamaru quickly pulled his face back, and Ino couldn't help but wish she stared into them a moment longer, but those thoughts were quickly dismissed.

"Good morning. Sleep well?" Getting up, the shinobi went towards the small pack, pretending to look for something or anything else that would keep him from looking at her.

"Yeah, I did. You?" Slowly, she pulled out of the sleeping bag and continued to sit there, not quite sure what to do. Glancing over to her side, she noticed the small dog asleep on the pillow. She slowly picked the small animal up in her arms, all the while being careful with the wounds she noticed he had. "Since when did we get a dog?"

"Oh, that." He pulled out his hands from the bag and turned around, watching her and the dog. "He was outside and he was hurt. I decided to bring him in and treat him. We can take him with us until we reach Suna, or something."

She nodded and started to pet his back carefully. "Looks like you're not so bad after all."

He let out a mere chuckle, wondering what the ANBU of Konoha would think if they saw him helping a little puppy. Silently, he rolled up the sleeping bag and tied up the pillow with it. He slowly rose to his feet, the bag of cereal and bananas in his hand. "Here, eat up." He tossed her one of the bananas and the bag of cereal which she caught with ease.

"Thanks." She peeled the banana and ate it slowly while she took out a few pieces of cereal and fed it to the small animal.

He quickly ate the banana and tossed the peel outside as he picked up the sleeping material and small bag. Signaling for her to get out of the tent, he followed her out. "Let's get this tent down and go. Who knows what trouble we'll run into in Suna."

--------------

Nearly two hours had passed and Shikamaru could already feel his stomach grumbling. He sighed, rubbing his free hand over it in hopes to settle it down. It wouldn't be much longer until they reached their destination, another hour.

The two hadn't spoken much during their walk. Their relationship was still rather awkward, especially since their sleeping together. The only conversation they had during the day was about what they were going to do after they arrived in Suna. He had mentioned that he knew someone there that could possibly be of help, but he didn't say any names. Other than that, they only sounds they heard were the birds, occasional whimpers from the dog, and the leaves crunching beneath their feet.

Shikamaru's black eyes widened as he swiftly turned around, a kunai flying past his face, barely missing his ear. Ino also took action quickly, but the small puppy in her arms hindered her from doing much. The wanted shinobi quickly dropped the sleeping bag and pillow the ground and took out two kunai from his pouch, holding them ready to throw.

The figure that had attacked came out of the bushes, and from the looks of things, he was in absolutely no condition to battle. His thick jacket was opened to reveal two large chest wounds that were still bleeding. His hood was thrown back and his hair was matted down from blood and sweat. Down his face, red drops of blood seemed to match the color of the red marks on his face. His arms and legs were covered in cuts and bruises, but he didn't seem to mind. In his hands were a few more kunai in ready position to use.

"Let go… of Akamaru…" Following his words, he coughed up a puddle of blood, which caused him to stumble backwards. Still panting, he got into fighting position once more, even though he could barely stand.

The Nara gripped the weapons in his hand tightly, but made no move to attack. There was no way their opponent would be able to put up a fight in this condition. And beneath all the blood covering his face and body, he could recognize the red marks any where.

Ino quickly set the bag down along with the small dog, apparently Akamaru, carefully. "What do you think you're doing?" She could feel her tone rising, almost sounding like the mother of a small boy who just got himself covered in mud. She knew that he was no ordinary opponent. Like Shikamaru, it didn't take her long to remember the face of the second loudmouth of her class. "You're in absolutely no condition to fight!"

He didn't seem to hear him, or if he did, he didn't show any signs of it. He had to use all his strength just to stand up, and the fact that the world was spinning certainly wasn't helping. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to identify the two standing before him, but his vision was too blurry. Coughing up another round of blood, he could feel the grip on the kunai loosen as they fell to the ground. It didn't take long for him to follow, eyes closed and body limp.

After a moment of him not moving, the blonde kunoichi quickly ran over to the young man's side. Carefully, she flipped him over onto his back. She didn't know much medical ninjutsu, only the things they learned in class and a few that her mother taught her, but those were basic. Opening up the jacket a bit more and rolling up his shirt, she winced. They wounds were large and looked very painful. Turning around, she signaled for him to come and bring whatever medical supplies they had. He nodded and gave her the bag, while kneeling down next to her. Akamaru, who had been awake the whole time, ran over as quick as his injured body would allow him to and sat down next to his owner, lightly licking his face in hopes to wake him up.

"Looks bad," he commented. She nodded in agreement while she pulled some bandages and a bit of ointment.

"There isn't that much." She stated as she poured the remaining contents onto his two wounds. Carefully, she rubbed the gel around a bit to make sure it got as much of the wounds as it could. A groan of pain came from the teenager's mouth and she could tell it was working.

"Do you know any ninjutsu that could help?"

She shook her head. "Only the basic stuff, but I doubt it would help here." Grabbing the bandages, she wondered if there was anything else there was she could do. The blood kept seeping out and she knew she had to do something fast. "Here, help me." She motioned for him to lift him up a bit. Quickly, she stretched out the bandage and began to wrap them around his chest with his help. Standing up, she glanced him over once again, noticing the other cuts around his body. They didn't have anything else, so those would have to wait.

"I'll carry him to Suna." Shikamaru offered as he slowly lifted the motionless body onto his back. He was careful to not reopen any wounds while he began to walk slowly. The small puppy followed close behind, keeping a close eye on his owner. Ino nodded and grabbed the bag along with the sleeping bag and pillow.

"What do you think could've happened to him?" She questioned once they were back on their path to their destination.

He shrugged in response. "Who knows. But he was one of our classmates, so we have to help him."

"Yeah, you're right. He's one of us."

The wanted shinobi picked up his pace a bit for he could feel how uncomfortable and injured the dog boy must be. The kunoichi followed him without a question, thinking the same exact thing. He was perfectly content with the silence, or even rather happy. He needed some time to think clearly without worry of any ANBU that might be chasing them, but it seemed she had other plans.

"So, we never finished our conversation last night." Ino commented as she stepped next to him.

Giving a sigh, he glanced at her, then back in front of him. "What else do we have to talk about?"

"I don't know, maybe…" She trailed off, trying to think of a question. "How about secret crushes?"

He nearly dropped the Inuzuka hearing that question, but he held on tightly. "What?" His voice held a tone of disbelief and so did his face.

"Well, you know how I love Sasuke-kun… But then again, that's not really secret. How about you?"

_There she goes with her 'beloved Sasuke-kun' again,_ he thought. "Women are too troublesome. How do you expect me to like them?" He immediately earned a slap on his arm for that answer. Wincing in pain, he decided to go with another answer. "Well, Haruno Sakura was very smart…"

"What?! Forehead-girl? You can't be serious!" She gave him another slap on the already reddening spot on his arm.

"Isn't this an opinionated question? That means I can't be wrong." He took a small step away from his companion, just in case that response would earn him a slap as well.

"Well, they're good answers, and then they're bad answers. Besides, who could _ever_ like forehead-girl?" Sighing, she shook her head. "I sure hope you have better taste now."

He gave another sigh in response. "Is my choice in women of real importance right now?"

Putting a finger and placing it on her chin, she gave it a moments thought before nodding. "Yes, it in fact is. If I'm going to be traveling with you, well you need to know exactly what women to go after. For example," she took this moment to glance sideways at him, her grin widening, "someone more like me."

She then quickly walked ahead of him, leaving him a few steps behind. With a surprised look still resting on his face, he wondered if she had only been joking or if she had just flirted with him.

--------------

"We're here." Shikamaru stopped suddenly, which caused Ino to bump into him and Kiba. Taking a step up, she stared past him and saw the large gate marking the entrance of Suna. It was rather large, just like those of Konoha, but it was a dark brown color opposed to Konoha's green. She could barely make out two figure standing on top of the gate, probably guards.

"What business do you have here in Suna?" One of the guards shouted down at the two of them.

Shikamaru carefully set down the dog boy before lifting his hands up in the air, showing he meant no harm. Signaling for her to stay back, he took a few steps forward. "We just want to seek medical help for our friend and perhaps stay for the night. We've been traveling all day and we're rather tired." He forced himself to keep his voice firm and not show any signs of fear. Konoha and Suna had been allies in the war since it started, so he was thankful for that. But, if Konoha had kept them up to date, then they might recognize him.

The blonde kunoichi watched intently from behind, just as nervous as him. The small dog in her hands took this opportunity to jump out of her arms and next to his owner. Slowly, the puppy began to lick his face, only to find him still unconscious.

The two guards looked at each other before turning their attention back to the outsiders. However, just as they were about to respond, they were cut off by a new voice.

"Hey! What's going on here?" The owner of that voice seemed to command a lot of respect, for the two quickly turned around and bowed their heads.

"Kankuro-san, there are some Konoha-nin outside asking for permission to enter," one of them responded with their head still bowed in respect.

The young man, Kankuro they guessed, walked to the end of the gate where they saw him. At first glance, he looked rather odd with the full black outfit and the purple face paint on his face. He also had large scrolls tied onto his back, no doubt his weapons for fighting. He narrowed his eyes and inspected each of the three carefully, before curiously raising his eyebrows. "Well, well, this soon, eh?" He muttered to himself before turning back tow the guards. "Open the gate."

"But, Kankuro-san shouldn't you-"

"I said open it! I'll deal with them." The guards, through confused, did what they were told and quickly opened the large gate so they could enter.

The black haired shinobi looked confused at first, but he decided not to argue. Quickly, he grabbed the injured Inuzuka and put him on his back once more. The two walked towards the entrance, only to be stopped by the face paint-wearing young man from the bridge.

"You're from Konoha, right?" He asked, eyeing their forehead protectors.

"Yes, we are," came Shikamaru's curt reply.

"Well then, you wouldn't happen to know Uzumaki Naruto, would you?"

Both of them widened their eyes in surprise, wondering how he would be familiar with their classmate. He opened his mouth to reply, but she beat him to answering the question.

"That loud mouthed blonde? Man, I wish didn't."

Giving a sigh, Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, we know him. He was one of our classmates. But may I ask how you know him?"

"It's a long story, but I know someone who would want to see you. By the way," he looked over his shoulder to the two, showing off his face that still held the purple paint more clearly, "the name's Kankuro."

"I'm Yamanaka Ino. Nice to meet you."

At first, he hesitated to say his name. He still wasn't sure if Suna would accept him or if they really did know of everything, but he had to take that chance. "Nara Shikamaru."

Kankuro raised his eyebrows in a surprised manner before facing back in front of him. "You don't say…"


	5. Arrival

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_**Chapter 5**_

_Arrival_

--------------

Black eyes opened slowly, the owner of them letting out a grunt. Pain shot through his body when he tried to lift himself, so he decided it would be better to just lie down on the bed for the time being. There was a slight sound coming from inside the room, probably someone walking around. His ears could also pick up a steady beeping pattern. After closing and reopening his eyes, he could see a bit more clearly. It didn't take him long after that to realize that something was missing.

"Akamaru!" Kiba shot up in his bed, breathing hard. He noticed a large machine next to the bed, but no small dog. A sharp pain in his stomach forced him to lie down again and clutch his stomach in pain.

"It would be smart to not get up." The figure, a young woman, walked over to the side of his bed. Through blurry vision, he could barely make out her blonde hair and the Suna headband on her neck.

"Where… where am I?" Lifting his hand from his stomach, he could feel warm liquid dripping down off of it. Once his vision came back to normal, he could see that there was blood on his hand.

"Great, now you reopened your wounds." Now, he could see the woman more clearly. She looked only a few years older then him. Quickly, she went into a drawer and dug through it before pulling out some fresh bandages. Making her way back to his bed, she lifted his shirt to reveal blood stained bandages.

Wincing in pain, the memories started floating back to him. "Ah, now I remember! I was fighting that guy with two heads. One of them came into my body and—ah," He could feel her pulling off the old ones and putting something on the wound to stop the bleeding before replacing them with new ones.

"Guy with two heads?" The sand kunoichi let out a chuckle before dumping the dirty bandages into the trash. "You're lucky your friends came when they did. If not, you would've been a goner."

"Friends?" His eyes widened in surprise when he finally remembered who she was talking about. "Those guys! They have Akamaru!" Just when he was about to lift himself off of the bed, she kept him down with a firm hand placed on his chest.

"Oh no, you're staying in bed. Gaara would kill me if I let his 'special guest' out before you're healed." Sighing, she pulled up a chair and sat down on the side of the bed. She leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a moment before turning back towards him. "So, what were you saying about the two headed guy before?"

"Yeah, I think Sakon was his name. And his older brother, who kind of lived inside of him, was named Ukon. It was a hard fight, but I managed to get away. I told Akamaru to escape before me and I managed to follow after. I bet those two are still out there looking for me."

"Akamaru's your dog?" He nodded. "And they tried to kill you? Why?" She kept her gaze on him, now very curios about his situation.

"No idea. But," his eyes, full of seriousness now locked with hers, "they were from Otogakure and they mentioned something about Uchiha Sasuke."

Her teal eyes widened at this. "The Uchiha kid?"

Kiba nodded. "Yeah, he was one of my classmates before the war. It's been about two and a half years since he left to Orochimaru."

"And a couple months after that, he launched an attack on us, his allies." She noted while rubbing her temple. "Yeah, that's why. He only agreed to become allies with us against Konoha so he could get Sasuke. And once that was done, he had enough power to go against both of us."

The dog boy again nodded. "Yeah. So, want to answer a few questions for me?"

Looking up at him once more, she nodded. "Depends."

"When you said Gaara, you meant the Kazekage?"

"The one and only."

"Why would he want to see me?"

"You know Uzumaki Naruto, right?"

Shifting a bit in the bed, he nodded. No one could forget him. For most, he was the wake up alarm when they fell asleep or the guy they all laughed at behind their back. But Kiba never did that, he could understand the Uzumaki. There was something about him, he wasn't quite sure what, but Akamaru liked him, so he did too. "Yeah, I know him. He was also one of my classmates."

"Yeah, that's probably why. Kankuro recognized you with those red marks on your face." He flinched as she put her finger on his face and ran down the marking. "Is that face paint or is it real? Kankuro was wondering that."

Pulling back, he rubbed his face as if some infectious monster had touched it. "Real. And who's Kankuro?"

"My brother and the brother of the Kazekage."

"Wait. So that means you're the Kazekage's sister?" His mouth hung open, his look full of surprise. He just thought she was a medic-nin or something else low in rank.

"Sabaku no Temari." Nodding, Temari held out her hand, hoping for a proper greeting.

Eyeing the hand, he shook it wearily. He never really trusted Suna-nin since the beginning of the war, even if they were considered allies with Konoha since Orochimaru betrayed Suna. "Inuzuka Kiba."

"So I bet you're wondering where your little dog is, right?" He nodded furiously, now taking the opportunity to look around and try and find him, but the room was empty other than the two shinobi. "Your friends still have him. They're probably in their room."

Glancing out the window, he noticed it was sunset. Had he really been out the whole day? He struggled to remember what happened before he passed out, but the only thing that came to mind was two very familiar faces. One had pineapple looking hair which he could immediately identify as Nara Shikamaru. He never really talked to him, but he did recall the few times he joined him in skipping class. The other reminded him of one of Sasuke's fan girls, the Yamanaka girl. "Yeah, that's good." He kept his eyes staring out the window. "Is he all right?"

"He seems fine, only a minor wound. I already took care of it so it should be fine." At first, she wasn't sure if he heard since he kept staring outside the window, not saying anything. She could've sworn she saw a tear trail down his face, but she rubbed it off and blamed it on the little amount of sleep she got last night. After a while, he finally turned around with a large grin on his face.

"That's good. Yeah, really good."

Silence consumed the room, making both feel rather uncomfortable. Temari quickly busied herself by fiddling with the large machine that was still beeping rhythmically. Kiba, in the mean while, began fiddling with the covers that were carelessly laid on his bare chest. It was rather cold since winter was approaching and he did want his jacket, but he knew better than to bother the now busy sister of the Kazekage. After a few more minutes, she finally finished with the machine and sat back down with a few papers in her hand.

"I have one more question," The Inuzuka said, noticing how loud his voice sounded in the silence of the room. The blonde looked up from her papers, her eyes now fully concentrating on him. "Where are those two?"

"Them?" She let out a small chuckle. "Well, they wanted to stay until you woke up, but from their clothing and everything, I could tell that they desperately needed to cool down and at least take a shower first. I told them to come back in the morning, when you would be fully healed." She absently waved her hand in the air as she looked back down at the papers in her hand. "Don't worry, they'll probably be here first thing tomorrow with your dog."

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Ino flopped herself down on the soft bed, letting out a relieved sigh. It had been a long day and she was glad that they had time to rest. Turning around, she looked over the room once again. It was a simple room, nothing much. Two beds were located on one wall with a small night stand between them. Opposite the beds was a door in the corner that led to the bathroom. On the third wall was another door, the entrance to the room, with a desk and chair sitting next to it. Lastly was a sliding glass door that led to balcony facing out onto the city.

Shikamaru currently sat at the desk, lying on the chair. Even though she didn't know him all that well, she could tell that something was bothering him. With that bored, yet worried expression resting on his face, anyone could tell.

"What's wrong?" She sat up on the mattress to get a better look at him. "Something's on your mind."

His head snapped towards her, showing that he had clearly been in some deep thought. Sighing, he turned the chair to face her. Knowing her, he could not be left alone until he shared his concerns. "This is the first time I've been in Suna and I'm not completely sure of its relations with Konoha. Suna was first against us. They only joined us after Orochimaru turned on them."

"Yeah, but that was two and a half years ago," she reminded him.

"You're right," he gave himself a reassuring nod, but a frown was still evident on his face. "But I wonder what the villagers have heard of me. And if they're any pictures, they'll definitely be weary of me. Uzumaki knowing the Kazekage is only a stroke of good luck." Sighing once more, the pineapple haired ninja rubbed his temple.

"Don't worry," she tried to give him a reassuring smile, but it didn't seem to help. "Speaking of, why do you think Naruto was here? And with forehead-girl, above all?"

"They said it was a mission. According to what he told them, it was a mission to bring back Sasuke."

Her ocean blue eyes widened, but she didn't respond at first. True, the past few days she had been worrying about the Uchiha and his whereabouts, but she just tried to push those troubling thoughts to the back of her head. And so far, it was working. But she knew she couldn't run away from it forever. Her crush had diminished a while ago, but it just felt so weird saying that she was over it. Her eyes cast downward for a moment, thoughts rushing through her head. Where was he? What was he doing? Was he alright? She shook her head to rid of the troubling thoughts and finally looked back up towards him. "Is that what you talked about while I was dropping off Kiba?" He nodded. "How long ago did this happen?"

"About two months ago," he responded, not taking his eyes off of hers. "Apparently, Hokage-sama wanted to send another, more person team. Uzumaki was close to Uchiha and Sakura had trained under her and learned some very useful medical ninjutsu. The two went with another jounin, I believe. They came here to collect information. Some how, he ended up in a fight with the Kazekage."

She gave a small chuckled. "Sounds just like him, always picking fights. But the Kazekage? That sounds drastic, even for him."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Who knows with him. But anyway, it seems that he started describing some of his 'friends', or classmates I guess. So, luckily, when Kankuro was at the gate when we entered, he immediately recognized us," he explained.

She nodded, now beginning to understand the whole situation. "That makes sense." Grinning, she chuckled again. "Wow, that Naruto actually did something good for a change. Well," she began, "I think I'm going to take a shower. It's been nearly three days since I got one." She jumped off of the bed, stretching as she made her way towards the bathroom. Before entering, she grabbed one of the neatly folded towels that were sitting on the bed. It didn't take long for him to hear the shower head turn on and expect that she was already in the shower.

He, too, got up from his seat and made his way over towards the balcony. Lifting the latch, he pulled open the door and stepped out. A chill wind greeted him by blowing over his tired face. He had to admit it felt good to finally be able to relax a bit. The sun had almost finished setting, leaving a beautiful orange light shining over the city. Walking to the end of the balcony, he placed his hands on the railing and craned his neck forward for a better view. Compared to Konoha, Suna looked like a paradise. Civilians were walking around without fear, children chasing each other down the streets, restaurants and bars beginning to fill up. Everything seemed perfect. A small smile grew on his lips as he continued to take in the sight. He wished he could just be like one of the civilians; going on missions and coming home to loving parents and then hanging out with friends late at night. In the last month of the academy, he truly envisioned his life like that. It would've been a simple life, if not a bit troublesome.

Either she took very quick showers or he lost track of time outside, but either way, she stepped out of the shower in what seemed like only five minutes. Turning around, he walked back into the warm room only to see his companions dressed in only a towel wrapped around her thin frame. Maybe he let his gaze linger a bit too much as he looked over how wonderfully that towel seemed to outline her body. But as soon as she looked his way, he forced himself to look in another direction.

"Man, that felt so good. I never thought I'd be so happy for a shower." Holding up the towel with one hand, she walked over to the bed and picked up the extra clothing that they gave to them. Once she picked it up and it unfolded itself, it was revealed to be a light purple kimono. There were a few green designs around and a darker purple outlining. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she continued to look over her new kimono. "They don't seem to have the best taste now, do they? Oh well, I guess it'll have to do. We'll just go shopping for more clothes tomorrow." Giving him a small grin, she stepped into the bathroom again, closing the door behind her.

While Shikamaru waited for her to come out, he took a look at the clothes that they gave him. They were quite similar to his own clothes; the same pants and sandals, only in black. The shirt was tighter than his fish net shirt that was open in the front. It was a light sandy color with a darker brown sand symbol on the back. Folded beneath it was a long sleeved black shirt, which he guessed was to be worn under it.

"_Oh,"_ Kankuro's words echoed in his heads along with a picture of the young man's face. _"It would be smart not to where your headbands while you guys walk around. The villagers aren't too fond of ninjas, especially foreign ones."_

Sighing, he untied the headband on his arm and set it down on the bed near Ino's clothing. He was right; the villagers probably wouldn't be too friendly to outsiders. Just when he was about to take off his clothing to put on the new ones, he heard the door open once again behind him. Turning around, his gaze fell on the now fully dressed Ino. The kimono fit perfectly on her. As she straightened out a few folds, he quickly looked her over without saying a word. Once she finished, she looked up only to see a silence Shikamaru still looking at her. "What?" She asked in a teasing tone. "Am I too beautiful for words?"

He quickly looked away and pretended to busy himself with his own clothing to hide the small, yet evident blush on his cheeks. "Troublesome women…" He muttered under his breath as he rose from his seat on the bed. Grabbing the clothing and other towel, he walked towards the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a quick shower." Without saying anything else, he walked in and closed the door behind him.

Stretching her arms above her head, she once again laid down on the bed. The shower had left a refreshing feeling with her, which she was extremely thankful for. There was a sweet scent traveling from the ajar balcony door to her nose, which caused curiosity to push her towards the balcony. Once there, she took in the outlook of the city. It was a truly beautiful and peaceful site, something she was so unused to. It had been nearly three years since she had seen a large and successful city that was nearly untouched by war. Taking another sniff of the air, she noticed that the sweet scent was in fact coming from outside. She guessed it was from the food being cooked in the many, busy restaurants. The smell was much more pleasing than the smell of Ichiraku ramen she encountered during her walks from home from the academy. It wasn't that she had anything against ramen, though she didn't like it too much, but Naruto would always rush over there after school and have at least five bowls (though she never knew how he paid for them), which let out a tremendous ramen odor throughout the area.

Deciding not to temp herself with the delicious scents any longer; she walked back into the room almost at the same time that the bathroom door open. He was wearing his own sand uniform which also seemed to fit perfectly, if not for being a bit too tight, but that didn't seem to bother him. She also noticed that his hair was still tied up. Apparently, he had dried it after his shower, because she could still see it was rather moist.

Grinning widely, she signaled towards the door. "Great! We can go out now."

She was answered with a confused look on his face. "Go out? We just got here and we should take the time to re—" He never had a chance to finish before she cut in.

"It's only nine! We still a couple of hours to get a good look of the city. Besides, after being in Konoha for so long, I barely remember the last time I went out." Flashing him an eager smile, she gestured towards the door once more. A small sigh escaped his lips as he set the towel down on the bed. He figured that she was right; going out at night with a friend was something he hadn't done in a while. Ever since Chouji died, he didn't really see any of his other friends. The thought caused him to frown, but it was soon replaced with a surprised look when Ino grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the door.

"Come on!"

Before exiting, she looked over her shoulder at the small, sleeping form of Kiba's dog that lay on a pillow in the corner of the room. The dog hadn't showed any signs of awakening since they arrived at the room, so she decided that he would be fine if he stayed in the room. It didn't take long for them to leave the large building in which their temporary apartment room was in. Ino had quickly led them down a rather crowded street, filled with teenagers and young couples making the best of their Saturday night. Music played throughout the streets and bars, which only encouraged more and more people to go out and dance. Despite the occasional attempts that she made for him to begin dancing with her, he continued on walking without showing any signs of joining her, so they finally picked out a local bar that didn't seem to be overflowing with costumers like the other, clearly more popular ones were. They seated themselves at a small table located right in between the bar entrance and a large area that people were using a dance floor.

"Hello!" A young woman, probably only a few years older than the two of them, greeted the pair with a polite smile. "What would you like?" She pulled out a pen and a note pad, ready to take down their orders.

Before Shikamaru had a chance to order a glass of water, Ino placed the order for both of them. "Two glasses of sake, please." The waitress nodded while she jotted it down before entering the bar once more. "So…" she turned to face him once more, a smile still playing on her lips. "It's a lot calmer now, don't you think?"

He nodded. "Don't you think we're a little young for sake? We're only 15." He pointed out. Regardless of war, they were still both only young teenagers; he had never even thought of drinking.

Shrugging, she responded by smiling even wider. "Maybe we are, but we might as well try. Come on, we should let loose!" In truth, she hadn't been out with friends ever since the war started. After the surprise attack, her parents deemed it dangerous for her to leave to house, just as was the case at most other households. The music was echoing in her ears and she could feel the urge to dance until she collapsed. Of course, there was no way she would get up and dance alone.

The waitress returned with the same smile and two glasses of sake. She placed them on the table before retreating to the bar to get more orders.

Ino took the glass carefully in her hand, swishing the sake around a bit just as she had seen her parents do at fancy dinners. She watched as Shikamaru also picked his up, scrutinizing the liquid as if it were some foreign matter. "Well, cheers." She lifted her glass up, waiting for his to bump slightly with hers, which he soon did. "Cheers that we managed to escape Konoha and are finally in Suna."

He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her statement. Only a couple days ago they first met and she thought he might kill her any second. He brought the glass to his lips which soon came in contact with the cold liquid. As the sake entered his mouth for the first time, he carefully took in its flavor. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be when he was younger, but it certainly wasn't his favorite. By the look on her face, he guessed that Ino thought the same. However, when she quickly gulped down half of the glass as opposed to him only taking a sip, he assumed that she liked it more than he did.

"This is good." Her hand still gripped the glass lightly, the aftertaste still in her mouth. "So, what did you think of it?" Her eyes abruptly went form the cup to his face.

He shrugged in response. "It was okay."

She nodded while lifting the glass and taking another sip. "How do you think Kiba is doing?"

"I bet they're taking good care of him. After all, he's in the care of the Kazekage's sister."

"You're right." She set her glass down once more, this time pulling her hand away from it. "I shouldn't worry."

Time passed very quickly for the two of them during all of their talking. They were mostly fun, casual lectures like about favorite things, opinions about certain people and places and about other things. The only serious conversation they had was about where they were going to head out after they were ready, but Shikamaru just said that he had someone he needed to see and left it at that. The two also consumed their sake rather quickly. After about an hour, when people were really beginning to crowd the streets with dancing and drinking, Shikamaru was up to his third cup and Ino was almost to her fourth. By then, she had decided that she would go ahead and ask him to dance, even though she had to admit her legs were feeling more wobbly than usual. And he, despite the dizziness he experienced as he stood up, agreed.

And so, the two spent the rest of the night dancing along with many of the other young residents of Suna. Shikamaru, even though he might've had a little too much sake, still didn't dance with as much enthusiasm as Ino would've hoped, but she didn't mind too much. They also both noticed how close they were getting, but neither said anything about it. Because at that moment, they weren't two shinobi from Konoha in Suna. They weren't two fugitives running away from the ANBU.

They were just two, normal teenagers, having fun just like all the others.

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**A/N: **This story is really starting to come along. I'm still not sure how long it will be chapter wise, but I'll work it out soon. I'd also like to thank all my reveiwers for this story. If you have any questions are any suggestions, please do tell them in your reveiws and I'll be sure to answer your questions in the next chapter. Chapter 6 might take a bit longer (sorry for the slow updates), but I need to work a bit on the plot. Well, thanks again for reading and don't forget to reveiw!


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